The market · Fruit · Southern Europe
Lemon juice
Gentler and rounder than lime, at about 6% acid, nearly all citric — the acid of the whiskey sour, the Tom Collins and most egg-white drinks.
bright · clean · rounder than lime
What to do with it
Ibu Sari's Beef rendangLemon juice would cut through its richnessAna Etxarri's Pil pilLemon juice would cut through its richnessTolu Adeyemi's SuyaLemon juice would cut through its richnessTolu Adeyemi's Rendang, the Lagos wayLemon juice would cut through its richness
PunjabiChole bhatureChickpeas cooked dark, sharp and spicy, with bhature — big, puffed breads of soured dough, deep-fried.No one here has made it yet
PunjabiTandoori chickenChicken on the bone, marinated in yoghurt, lemon and spice, then roasted fast in the fierce heat of a clay tandoor.No one here has made it yetPunjabiAmritsari fishWhite fish in a gram-flour batter sharp with ajwain, chilli and lemon, deep-fried crisp and eaten hot with chaat masala and chutney.No one here has made it yetPunjabiCharghaA whole chicken slashed and marinated in yoghurt, lemon and spice, steamed until tender, then deep-fried until the outside is crisp.No one here has made it yetBengaliRosogollaSoft, spongy balls of fresh chhena cheese, cooked in light sugar syrup until they swell — the sweet Bengal is proudest of.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDhoklaA spongy, steamed savoury cake of gram flour or fermented rice and lentils, tempered with mustard seed, curry leaves and green chilli and soaked in a sweetened water.No one here has made it yetGujaratiUndhiyuA winter medley of flat beans, purple yam, sweet potato, baby aubergine and plantain, slow-cooked with fenugreek dumplings and a green masala of coconut and coriander.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDal dhokliPieces of spiced wholewheat dough simmered in a sweet-sour toor dal with peanuts, jaggery and lemon — a whole meal in one pot.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianHyderabadi biryaniMarinated goat or chicken layered raw under half-cooked basmati, with saffron, fried onion and mint, then sealed and cooked slowly on dum.No one here has made it yet
LevantineHummusChickpeas cooked very soft and blended with tahini, lemon, garlic and salt until silky.No one here has made it yet
LevantineTabboulehA salad of parsley — mostly parsley — with tomato, mint, spring onion and a little bulgur, dressed with lemon and olive oil.No one here has made it yet
LevantineFalafelBalls of soaked, raw chickpeas ground with herbs, onion and spice and deep-fried — crisp outside, green and soft within.No one here has made it yetLevantineFattoushA salad of crisp leaves, tomato, cucumber, radish and herbs with shards of toasted or fried flatbread, in a sharp dressing of lemon and sumac.No one here has made it yetLevantineFattehLayers of toasted flatbread, warm chickpeas and garlicky yoghurt with tahini, finished with pine nuts sizzled in butter or ghee.No one here has made it yetPersianJoojeh kababPieces of chicken marinated in saffron, lemon and onion, grilled over charcoal and eaten with rice and a charred tomato.No one here has made it yetTurkishBaklavaMany sheets of paper-thin pastry layered with chopped pistachios or walnuts, baked in butter and soaked in syrup.No one here has made it yet
MoroccanZaaloukAubergine and tomato cooked down with garlic, cumin and paprika, mashed, and eaten warm or cold with bread.No one here has made it yetMoroccanFish tagine with charmoulaFish marinated in charmoula, laid over potatoes, tomatoes and peppers with preserved lemon and olives, and cooked slowly in the tagine.No one here has made it yetCape MalayBobotieSpiced minced meat with dried fruit and soaked bread, baked under a thin savoury egg custard, with bay leaves on top.No one here has made it yetProvençalAïoliGarlic pounded with salt and beaten with olive oil into a thick, pungent emulsion.No one here has made it yetGreekSouvlakiSmall pieces of pork or chicken grilled on skewers, eaten from the stick or wrapped in pitta with tomato, onion, tzatziki and chips.No one here has made it yetGreekAvgolemonoChicken broth thickened with rice and a froth of egg and lemon, tempered in so it turns silky rather than scrambled.No one here has made it yetThe cocktail barClarified milk punchA punch poured into milk, left to curdle and strained clear: silky, glass-bright, and stable for weeks.2 versions hereGoes with
Cooked with, here
How much, here
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Heavy fruit with thin, glossy skin. Squeeze through a fine sieve to keep pips and pulp out of a clear drink.
- Worth knowing
- For a clarified drink, lemon is easier than lime: it stands a little heat when it's hydrating agar.
